Lugy's BMW 740I and friends
Discussion
First of all I apologise in advance, I'm not the best at keeping these things updated and taking photos when I do things but I'll try and keep on top of this as I go!
Rewind back to this time last year and a message from a friend's dad that works in a local independent BMW specialist, it read "BMW 740, loads of miles, £350, want it?"
Needless to say a couple of days later this fine, 195k piece of JRG German engineering was outside the flat.
One rear wheel bearing, a hand brake cable and a track rod end later it was ready to smoke about in.
Unfortunately the dream was short lived, a few months later, the (only) key I had for the car went through the wash accidentally and the car never ran again. Cue loads of head scratching and research, even going to the expense of buying a new key but all to no avail.
Fast forward a few months, I started a new job with much better pay and kept saying how I was going to take the car to BMW to get it put on the diagnostic machine, well that never happened although the 740 itch was still irritating me.
Not to worry though, I've just bought another......
I did have more pictures but the camera seems to have had other ideas.
It's a 1998, 116k, MOT until July, Xenons, contour seats with special upholstery, special paint, M parallels, sat nav, rear blinds, hands free phone, electric steering column, Shadowline trim. It drives brilliantly and I can't really fault it.
This morning I got a few hours spent on tidying up the interior, it's still not perfect but it's a bit better, I think I'll try some of the Furniture Clinic gear at some point soon.
Exterior wise, there's a couple of rust spots and small dings but it's pretty sound for a 16 year old, although the paint needs a fair bit polishing to bring it back up, as you can maybe see....
Elsewhere, the Sat Nav screen doesn't work which doesn't help with using the radio, the remote locking doesn't work (although still works with the key in the lock which is a good sign), the cam covers are a bit leaky and the gearbox is probably ripe for a service at this age, along with the rest of the car.
Finally, let me introduce the "friends"....
My beloved Astra I use everyday
And my Cavalier that now gathers dust (though did go on an epic trip to Spain last year!)
Rewind back to this time last year and a message from a friend's dad that works in a local independent BMW specialist, it read "BMW 740, loads of miles, £350, want it?"
Needless to say a couple of days later this fine, 195k piece of JRG German engineering was outside the flat.
One rear wheel bearing, a hand brake cable and a track rod end later it was ready to smoke about in.
Unfortunately the dream was short lived, a few months later, the (only) key I had for the car went through the wash accidentally and the car never ran again. Cue loads of head scratching and research, even going to the expense of buying a new key but all to no avail.
Fast forward a few months, I started a new job with much better pay and kept saying how I was going to take the car to BMW to get it put on the diagnostic machine, well that never happened although the 740 itch was still irritating me.
Not to worry though, I've just bought another......
I did have more pictures but the camera seems to have had other ideas.
It's a 1998, 116k, MOT until July, Xenons, contour seats with special upholstery, special paint, M parallels, sat nav, rear blinds, hands free phone, electric steering column, Shadowline trim. It drives brilliantly and I can't really fault it.
This morning I got a few hours spent on tidying up the interior, it's still not perfect but it's a bit better, I think I'll try some of the Furniture Clinic gear at some point soon.
Exterior wise, there's a couple of rust spots and small dings but it's pretty sound for a 16 year old, although the paint needs a fair bit polishing to bring it back up, as you can maybe see....
Elsewhere, the Sat Nav screen doesn't work which doesn't help with using the radio, the remote locking doesn't work (although still works with the key in the lock which is a good sign), the cam covers are a bit leaky and the gearbox is probably ripe for a service at this age, along with the rest of the car.
Finally, let me introduce the "friends"....
My beloved Astra I use everyday
And my Cavalier that now gathers dust (though did go on an epic trip to Spain last year!)
Cheers folks, I'm currently using my phone and can't work out how to multiquote so I'll try to address all points, the key issue is very annoying, I've tried just about everything a mere mortal can do but never got anywhere. The car is still sitting outside our garage but it's been destined for breaking. V8 itches need scratched before they're outlawed or gone altogether!
The kidneys and indicators will be getting swapped with the ones on the gold one.
The fuel tank has been repaired and seems fine with a full tank, if need be the gold one has had a tank at some stage so that will be being removed and kept.
I'll be looking at the cooling system when I service it, it appears to be in good shape at the moment though.
I'd agree about the stance comments, when BMW design a car they definitely know how to get it sitting 'right'.
The kidneys and indicators will be getting swapped with the ones on the gold one.
The fuel tank has been repaired and seems fine with a full tank, if need be the gold one has had a tank at some stage so that will be being removed and kept.
I'll be looking at the cooling system when I service it, it appears to be in good shape at the moment though.
I'd agree about the stance comments, when BMW design a car they definitely know how to get it sitting 'right'.
Quick update,
Been using it more than I should have been, the only issue so far has been the alarm going of randomly, locking it with the key rather than remote has solved this for now though I'll need to look further into it. The cam cover gaskets are still seeping oil, though with the HVAC set to recirc mode it isn't smelly inside now! Now gaskets to be fitted this weekend though. I've even managed to average 21mpg doing mixed driving which I thought was fairly decent.
I also changed the indicators for gingers and swapped over the chrome kidneys from the gold one, though found they didn't stay in too great. I'm a little unsure of the chrome ones still, I think black suits the Shadowline trim.
http://s181.photobucket.com/user/lugy1988/media-fu...
Oh, I had suspicions that it might have been an 'Individual' though it wasn't sold as such. I also thought they had Individual on the kick plates which mine doesn't. According to the colour plate it is though....
http://s181.photobucket.com/user/lugy1988/media-fu...
Not much else to report, next things to do are the gaskets mentioned above and hopefully a full service next week!
ETA- IMG code doesn't seem to work on my phone, so I've just put in links for now!
Been using it more than I should have been, the only issue so far has been the alarm going of randomly, locking it with the key rather than remote has solved this for now though I'll need to look further into it. The cam cover gaskets are still seeping oil, though with the HVAC set to recirc mode it isn't smelly inside now! Now gaskets to be fitted this weekend though. I've even managed to average 21mpg doing mixed driving which I thought was fairly decent.
I also changed the indicators for gingers and swapped over the chrome kidneys from the gold one, though found they didn't stay in too great. I'm a little unsure of the chrome ones still, I think black suits the Shadowline trim.
http://s181.photobucket.com/user/lugy1988/media-fu...
Oh, I had suspicions that it might have been an 'Individual' though it wasn't sold as such. I also thought they had Individual on the kick plates which mine doesn't. According to the colour plate it is though....
http://s181.photobucket.com/user/lugy1988/media-fu...
Not much else to report, next things to do are the gaskets mentioned above and hopefully a full service next week!
ETA- IMG code doesn't seem to work on my phone, so I've just put in links for now!
Edited by Lugy on Wednesday 19th November 20:38
The clear indicators looks worse in the flesh than the pictures, they were a bit too blingy compared to the headlights. Maybe if they were the facelift ones like what it looks as though gf15 had on his car they'd be a bit nicer!
A gearbox oil change is on my list, hopefully I'll get it done when I service it, the 'box is very smooth in mine, but prevention is the best cure as they say!
gf15 said:
Beautiful car. The Buffalo leather is quite rare and by far the nicest leather I have seen in a car. It also wears superbly.
Mine had "individual" on the turret just like yours. Mine was Oxford Green and the piping on the seats was also a oxford green.
My gearbox went a bit clunky at 120k miles when you floored it, kick down was very harsh. My specialist updated the gearbox SW and it felt like a new gearbox. It was a real quality piece of kit. I sold mine at 200k miles. Superb cars
Cheers!Mine had "individual" on the turret just like yours. Mine was Oxford Green and the piping on the seats was also a oxford green.
My gearbox went a bit clunky at 120k miles when you floored it, kick down was very harsh. My specialist updated the gearbox SW and it felt like a new gearbox. It was a real quality piece of kit. I sold mine at 200k miles. Superb cars
A gearbox oil change is on my list, hopefully I'll get it done when I service it, the 'box is very smooth in mine, but prevention is the best cure as they say!
Remagel2507 said:
Car looks really nice OP, I really do need to finish mine off now its been sat for way too long.
Your original gold car looks identical to one we had in a good 6 or 7 years ago, IIRC there were no keys or only 1 key for the car and it was a non runner, I think we attempted to get it running but in the end the customer didn't want to spend any money on it and took it back.
What's up with your one?Your original gold car looks identical to one we had in a good 6 or 7 years ago, IIRC there were no keys or only 1 key for the car and it was a non runner, I think we attempted to get it running but in the end the customer didn't want to spend any money on it and took it back.
Edited by Remagel2507 on Thursday 20th November 10:45
The gold car might actually be saved at the eleventh hour, I'm hoping to get someone along in the next couple of weeks to see if their diagnostics can help towards getting it started, that'd mean I wouldn't need to get my hands dirty by breaking it!
Took the Green one out down the coast on Sunday and got a couple of pictures....
Still waiting on my cam cover gaskets to be delivered so no real progress on that.
In the meantime, here's a wee bit on the other two cars in the fleet (Vauxhall content I'm afraid).
Vauxhall Cavalier SRi 2.0 16v
I bought this back in April '12 when the Vectra I was running died, it popped up on eBay, low owners, 122k, standard and with good history. We popped down to Blackburn, £500 changed hands and I happily plodded back up the road (for free - the car came with 3/4 tank of fuel!).
The day I bought it.
The car turned out to be deadly reliable, racking up loads of miles and only needing a few minor parts here and there, right up until the timing belt snapped. A few nights and £200 later I had fitted a new head/gasket kit/belt kit and service was resumed.
At the VBOA Rally at Billing 2012.
On a wee trip up to Applecross and beyond.
That winter I took the car off the road after buying £330 worth of V70.
During that time I took care of some welding and changed the rear brakes, fitted H&R springs along with some Bilstein rear shocks. The Volvo was then sold (for £650!) and the Cavalier MOT and taxed.
Back on the road in March ‘13.
Various adventures followed, when in September ’13, myself and the OH had a couple of weeks off work, we decided to go on a bit of a road trip.
First the 450mile trip to Dover for a boat.
Then a 550 mile detour to avoid paying tolls through France, Belgium, Luxembourg and back into France to head for our first night in Gex
Next over to Nimes for the night (which we hated!).
From there we booked 4 nights in a cheap holiday hotel in Calella on the Costa Brava and headed down the scenic coastal road.
After relaxing for a bit, it was time to head home, we stopped in Limoges, where we bought the biggest KFC box I’ve ever seen and camped out.
The next part was a boring 900mile hoof from there to our door. The car was absolutely faultless throughout the 3200miles/7 days, even in the 30degC plus heat we were lucky enough to get in Spain.
That was the car’s final outing last year, following that it got a bit of a refresh; new LUK clutch, all new front suspension bushes, new front brakes, Bilstein shocks up front along with other bits and pieces.
All it’s really done this year is a couple of shows, the rest of the time it’s been tucked away.
I had advertised it for sale though I’ve since decided to keep it. It might drive horrendously compared to more modern cars but it always seems to attract a thumbs up or a smile wherever it goes and it might not be worth much in monetary terms but sentimentally it’s worth a lot more, even if I haven’t actually owned it for that long!
Vauxhall Astra Coupe 2.2
This car doesn’t have quite as rosy a story, originally bought as a non runner last April through my dad’s garage (timing chain failure) I had planned on repairing it, running it through the summer and punting it on.
Initially it lay around for a couple of months before I could get round to dealing with it.
Eventually I got the head off, rebuilt it with a few new valves, bought a new timing chain kit and head set and it came back to life. For a week.
Turned out the exhaust cam had a slight bend in it which led to it wearing away the cam carrier. Bugger.
Fortunately a mate had a spare engine that had a knackered bottom end but good head so I had that of him.
Swapped the head over and got it back in action. Now it was getting used, it became apparent that it was using oil and loads of it. 1l for 100miles!
After lots of diagnosing, we decided it could only be the rings, so cue a bottom end engine rebuild.
Third time lucky…..
Heading to September last year and with the car running sweetly, we had originally planned to take the Astra on the above road trip. Me, being the forward thinking guy I am, decided to give it a service, seeing as I had no idea when it was last done.
Came to the last spark plug and “crack”, the head had cracked between the plug hole and water jacket, turning a good head into scrap instantly!
The car was abandoned at the garage and we went away for the week. The following week, yet another head was sourced and fitted. Since then, touch wood, the car has ran fantastically!
I’m quite glad I stuck it out, it’s turned out to be a gem of a car, it’s since been fitted with Eibach springs, Dunlop SP Sportmaxx tyres and had an Astra VXR front brake conversion. Slightly numb steering aside, it’s a brilliant car to drive with a good compromise between comfort and “sportiness”, grips the road well, it’s well built, hasn’t rusted after 11 years and IMO is quite a good looking car, especially for something designed in the 90s. Of course however, being a Vauxhall, it is none of those things.
So, that’s it!
BorkFactor said:
Great write up, I enjoyed reading that! 
Cavalier is really nice, I can't remember the last time I saw one on the road. I had an Astra 2.2 hatchback for a while, I agree about them being under rated cars. I actually miss mine a little bit!
What did you think of the Applecross road? I live in Inverness so have driven over there quite a lot, never fails to entertain!
Cheers, I've done the road a few times now, quite a good jaunt, when we went up in the Cavalier, I had the pleasure of following some Porsches up the hill, the noise was quite something, though I prefer some of the other roads in the area, the A87 from Invergarry to the Kyle probably being my favourite.Cavalier is really nice, I can't remember the last time I saw one on the road. I had an Astra 2.2 hatchback for a while, I agree about them being under rated cars. I actually miss mine a little bit!
What did you think of the Applecross road? I live in Inverness so have driven over there quite a lot, never fails to entertain!
Not really got a particularly exciting update here, I ended up in hospital a few weeks ago, culminating in getting my gall bladder removed, so I've not been able to get much done. I've just replaced the cam cover gaskets though which was the most important job on the list. Typically it didn't go to plan, the RH bank went without a hitch but after stripping the LH side down I discovered that I'd been supplied with a sealed bag containing the wrong gasket (a RH gasket with the LH part no.) which had no chance of working.
Fortunately our workshop is next to a garage who we get on well with so I got him to order in the right one, still it left me like this overnight.
The gasket turned up this morning (a genuine one too!) and half an hour later the car was running again.
I popped outside to give it a bit of a wash and began giving the bonnet a polish, glaze and wax (Menzerna P203/yellow pad on a rotary polisher, Prima Amigo and Dodojuice Blue Velvet for anyone interested) - not a perfect job but a step in the right direction. I just need to start building the motivation to do the rest of the car.
I'm going to leave the car in the garage and try to finish the polishing, get the wheels off and paint the brake calipers, clean up the engine bay and give it a service
Oh, I bought a new key ring, sad I know but hey!
Fortunately our workshop is next to a garage who we get on well with so I got him to order in the right one, still it left me like this overnight.
The gasket turned up this morning (a genuine one too!) and half an hour later the car was running again.
I popped outside to give it a bit of a wash and began giving the bonnet a polish, glaze and wax (Menzerna P203/yellow pad on a rotary polisher, Prima Amigo and Dodojuice Blue Velvet for anyone interested) - not a perfect job but a step in the right direction. I just need to start building the motivation to do the rest of the car.
I'm going to leave the car in the garage and try to finish the polishing, get the wheels off and paint the brake calipers, clean up the engine bay and give it a service
Oh, I bought a new key ring, sad I know but hey!
Just another little update, been using the car a bit more since the cam cover gaskets were changed. Much nicer now there isn't a smell of burnt oil in the cabin.
At the weekend I took the car on the PH Ecosse Festive Run. It's been the longest run I've done since buying the car, I think around 340 miles. For such a big car it's quite enjoyable in the twisties, it really does hide it's mass quite well and seems to show little body roll from the driver's seat. Grip in the wet is rather good too but then the tyres are so wide it'd be weird if it didn't. It sounds quite good but definitely very muted, it'd be nice if it had a little burble like Jaguar seem to manage. I think we were the comfiest by the end of the trip too.
A few pictures from the day....
Today I spent a bit time looking in to why the in car monitor wasn't working, some fiddling and unplugging the Nav drive the screen popped into life. To say I'm pleased is an understatement, I had expected major expense having to replace everything....
Also gave it a wash, some Autoglym Super Resin Polish and a coat of Collinite 915 wax, it's come up quite well, though I'll give it a better go in the spring when I find my jar of motivation....
Still gathering parts for a major service but first in line for some love is the Poop Coupe (Astra), given it's used most of the time it could be doing with a service and it's probably due some Waxoyl now. Not sure if I'll run it for another year or replace it. Given it seems to be running spot on, I'm loathe to replace it.
At the weekend I took the car on the PH Ecosse Festive Run. It's been the longest run I've done since buying the car, I think around 340 miles. For such a big car it's quite enjoyable in the twisties, it really does hide it's mass quite well and seems to show little body roll from the driver's seat. Grip in the wet is rather good too but then the tyres are so wide it'd be weird if it didn't. It sounds quite good but definitely very muted, it'd be nice if it had a little burble like Jaguar seem to manage. I think we were the comfiest by the end of the trip too.
A few pictures from the day....
Today I spent a bit time looking in to why the in car monitor wasn't working, some fiddling and unplugging the Nav drive the screen popped into life. To say I'm pleased is an understatement, I had expected major expense having to replace everything....
Also gave it a wash, some Autoglym Super Resin Polish and a coat of Collinite 915 wax, it's come up quite well, though I'll give it a better go in the spring when I find my jar of motivation....
Still gathering parts for a major service but first in line for some love is the Poop Coupe (Astra), given it's used most of the time it could be doing with a service and it's probably due some Waxoyl now. Not sure if I'll run it for another year or replace it. Given it seems to be running spot on, I'm loathe to replace it.
Update time, first of all I've sold the Astra, didn't really want to but something more suitable for commuting came up, more on that in a little bit. It ended up going to a lad in Fife, who seems like he'll look after it which makes me happy.
The last picture of Poop Coupe....
I'd also been using the 740 throughout January, the fuel economy was a bit on the crippling side, averaging 21mpg and doing about 400+ miles a week but then driving in über-Komfort and having a V8 does offset this slightly. Nothing interesting to report though still due a service, no green lights now!
Even though I was washing it weekly it still ended up like this....
Which brings me on to the new vehicle, not sure if it even qualifies as a shed, maybe more one of they garden storage boxes/chests....
It was destined for the crusher but as I can't really see anything go to waste I stepped in, paid £100, bought a new(ish) alternator, cleaned/freed off the brakes, replaced the rear pads and was on my way. It's a 306 estate (if you hadn't already guessed!) 2.0 HDI and it's covered a small 227k miles.
Until I bought it, it had been lying outside for a few months and had began to accumulate various organisms inside and out so needed a bit of a tidy up.
Before pictures....
After a few hours work I was left with this....
It now looks quite respectable I think, even one of the guys from one of the companies next to our garage/unit stopped to have a look and comment on how well it looked now.
For anyone interested in what I did; the interior was hoovered, carpets sprayed and agitated with Autosmart G101/brush, plastics wiped down with G101/hot water mix, the seats were shampooed with Autosmart Brisk and a George and finally the plastics were dressed with Autosmart Highstyle. The exterior was soaked in G101, the snowfoamed, attacked with Autosmart Tardis, washed then using an old pad on my rotary polisher and some Menzerna FG400 it was polished and sealed with Sonax Protect and Shine (highly recommended product from me!). It's not a perfect job, I couldn't be bothered claying it which killed the pad but still, it doesn't look too bad.
My only real regret was the terrible job I did of removing the rust from and painting the leading edge of the bonnet, I'll maybe do it a bit better in the spring.
Oh, I also bought another wheel to match the 3 already on the car.
There's still a few things needing done, the rear wishbone 'P' bushes aren't the best and it knocks quite badly over bumps and the thermostat seems to be stuck open so it takes a while to warm up, though I've ordered replacement parts so it'll hopefully be done at the weekend. The engine seems really good however, it genuinely feels like a far less 'experienced' lump, I might even treat it to a service in the spring. Oh and it's amazing on fuel, I don't have any actual numbers but assuming the gauge isn't fecked (entirely plausible) I reckon it's doing around 50mpg.
It's not really something I do but I'm going to keep tabs on how much this car costs to keep on the road (minus tax/ins/fuel), even if it just makes me feel better!
So far;
Car £100
Alternator £30
Alternator belt £10
Rear brake pads £7.50
Wheel £25
2x part worn tyres £20
MOT £40
Wiper blades £10
Halfords spray paint £5.50
Peugeot cost so far - £248
The last picture of Poop Coupe....
I'd also been using the 740 throughout January, the fuel economy was a bit on the crippling side, averaging 21mpg and doing about 400+ miles a week but then driving in über-Komfort and having a V8 does offset this slightly. Nothing interesting to report though still due a service, no green lights now!
Even though I was washing it weekly it still ended up like this....
Which brings me on to the new vehicle, not sure if it even qualifies as a shed, maybe more one of they garden storage boxes/chests....
It was destined for the crusher but as I can't really see anything go to waste I stepped in, paid £100, bought a new(ish) alternator, cleaned/freed off the brakes, replaced the rear pads and was on my way. It's a 306 estate (if you hadn't already guessed!) 2.0 HDI and it's covered a small 227k miles.
Until I bought it, it had been lying outside for a few months and had began to accumulate various organisms inside and out so needed a bit of a tidy up.
Before pictures....
After a few hours work I was left with this....
It now looks quite respectable I think, even one of the guys from one of the companies next to our garage/unit stopped to have a look and comment on how well it looked now.
For anyone interested in what I did; the interior was hoovered, carpets sprayed and agitated with Autosmart G101/brush, plastics wiped down with G101/hot water mix, the seats were shampooed with Autosmart Brisk and a George and finally the plastics were dressed with Autosmart Highstyle. The exterior was soaked in G101, the snowfoamed, attacked with Autosmart Tardis, washed then using an old pad on my rotary polisher and some Menzerna FG400 it was polished and sealed with Sonax Protect and Shine (highly recommended product from me!). It's not a perfect job, I couldn't be bothered claying it which killed the pad but still, it doesn't look too bad.
My only real regret was the terrible job I did of removing the rust from and painting the leading edge of the bonnet, I'll maybe do it a bit better in the spring.
Oh, I also bought another wheel to match the 3 already on the car.
There's still a few things needing done, the rear wishbone 'P' bushes aren't the best and it knocks quite badly over bumps and the thermostat seems to be stuck open so it takes a while to warm up, though I've ordered replacement parts so it'll hopefully be done at the weekend. The engine seems really good however, it genuinely feels like a far less 'experienced' lump, I might even treat it to a service in the spring. Oh and it's amazing on fuel, I don't have any actual numbers but assuming the gauge isn't fecked (entirely plausible) I reckon it's doing around 50mpg.
It's not really something I do but I'm going to keep tabs on how much this car costs to keep on the road (minus tax/ins/fuel), even if it just makes me feel better!
So far;
Car £100
Alternator £30
Alternator belt £10
Rear brake pads £7.50
Wheel £25
2x part worn tyres £20
MOT £40
Wiper blades £10
Halfords spray paint £5.50
Peugeot cost so far - £248
Cheers Melv, I did think about that, it came with a set of the alloys as seen on the nearside front in the first picture too so I'm sure they could be sold, I quite like the ones that are on it though they'll be getting sold separately when it eventually gets weighed in! Would be nice to break even at that point!
406highlander said:
Too good to weigh it in! You could flog that for nearly a grand right now, especially with that fuel economy figure.
Don't worry, it'll not be be going anywhere anytime soon, I've set myself the challenge of keeping it going as long as possible, 300k seems a good target!ScottJB said:
Nice lunchtime read this, thanks for posting.
Good to see the Cav's - reminds me of my old Migweb days.
The 7 looks good in those coastal shots - ambers definitely suit the green and M paras always look the part.
Cheers, I still occasionally pop on Migweb, it's died a bit of a death now though!Good to see the Cav's - reminds me of my old Migweb days.
The 7 looks good in those coastal shots - ambers definitely suit the green and M paras always look the part.
davehilton said:
Great thread, good read. Love the 7 series, always wanted one but don't think I can handle the fuel economy!
They definitely aren't the most economical but the engine and comfort goes someway to making up for it!Well, I've finally got round to giving the E38 a service, I've also had to treat it to a pair of new cats as the current ones have started to rattle, just need to see of I can acquire the shot of a ramp to make life easier when fitting. The cats were surprisingly cheap at £300+vat for the pair from a local motor factor who usually sell only OEM products or equivalent. The plugs were a shock at £10+vat each though and that was with max discount, luckily the rest of the service kit was fairly cheap.
The pollen filters were a tad dirty...
Full green lights again...
I think the next job will be either a transmission fluid change or maybe some preventative maintenance on the cooling system.
The Peugeot has dodging along, not particularly great to drive, quite awful actually but it does 48mpg without me really needing to think about being economical. I've had issues with the lower suspension arms and the subframe mounting bolts snapping inside the chassis legs, resulting in a half bolted/half welded to car subframe and an OS suspension arm bush that's now knackered, neither really helps with the driving experience!
A promotion at work, along with unlimited overtime has spurred me on a bit to buy something a bit better for daily duties so the Peugeot only really needs to last another month or so.
The pollen filters were a tad dirty...
Full green lights again...
I think the next job will be either a transmission fluid change or maybe some preventative maintenance on the cooling system.
The Peugeot has dodging along, not particularly great to drive, quite awful actually but it does 48mpg without me really needing to think about being economical. I've had issues with the lower suspension arms and the subframe mounting bolts snapping inside the chassis legs, resulting in a half bolted/half welded to car subframe and an OS suspension arm bush that's now knackered, neither really helps with the driving experience!
A promotion at work, along with unlimited overtime has spurred me on a bit to buy something a bit better for daily duties so the Peugeot only really needs to last another month or so.
hornetrider said:
Lovely E38 but those black kidneys have gotta go 
I've got to admit that they've grown on me, I think they go with the Shadowline trim nicely. I have tried the chrome ones from my other one but the clips are broken so they rattle about. I'm tempted to buy a new set and try them though, we'll see!Another update, though not the most event filled couple of months!
Turns out I've had the 7 series for 6 months now and covered 5000 miles in that time somehow, bizarre given that it doesn't seem like I've used it much.
So, how are we getting on so far? Well I genuinely can't really fault it, it's obviously very comfortable but with a slightly firm ride and whisper quiet on the move with only a V8 rumble when you provoke it. However, show it a corner and it doesn't just give up, it really gets through the bends without fuss with only the high ratio steering rack letting it down, it just seems to need a bit much input to make it turn. I guess that wasn't the first priority for BMW and it probably stops it being twitchy at speed.
Fuel/insurance/road tax aside, the car hasn't cost me anything since it's service which is always nice. All I've really done is keep it washed and started detailing it for the summer months, oh and drive it!
The Peugeot is still s
te but keeps surviving. It's actually quite good as a van too.
Finally, the Cavalier. Currently a bit of a sore subject, I had hoped to get it back on the road this week and started to check it over for it's MOT. In true 90s car fashion it's rotten, it seems to have started from the inside out and as such doesn't look like a cost effective fix. Now it is a 20 year old car car and I accept I've had a bit more than my money's worth but I'm still quite gutted.
Not sure what to do yet, my first thought was just buy another tidy shell and retrofit all the SRi parts, probably the cheapest answer but it'll never be the same, or break the car and move on.
Turns out I've had the 7 series for 6 months now and covered 5000 miles in that time somehow, bizarre given that it doesn't seem like I've used it much.
So, how are we getting on so far? Well I genuinely can't really fault it, it's obviously very comfortable but with a slightly firm ride and whisper quiet on the move with only a V8 rumble when you provoke it. However, show it a corner and it doesn't just give up, it really gets through the bends without fuss with only the high ratio steering rack letting it down, it just seems to need a bit much input to make it turn. I guess that wasn't the first priority for BMW and it probably stops it being twitchy at speed.
Fuel/insurance/road tax aside, the car hasn't cost me anything since it's service which is always nice. All I've really done is keep it washed and started detailing it for the summer months, oh and drive it!
The Peugeot is still s
te but keeps surviving. It's actually quite good as a van too.Finally, the Cavalier. Currently a bit of a sore subject, I had hoped to get it back on the road this week and started to check it over for it's MOT. In true 90s car fashion it's rotten, it seems to have started from the inside out and as such doesn't look like a cost effective fix. Now it is a 20 year old car car and I accept I've had a bit more than my money's worth but I'm still quite gutted.
Not sure what to do yet, my first thought was just buy another tidy shell and retrofit all the SRi parts, probably the cheapest answer but it'll never be the same, or break the car and move on.
Again, not a massive update but last Monday, seeing as I had a day off and found some motivation I thought I'd get the big fella looking a wee bit nicer for the better weather coming.
No before pics, I always forget to take them and get stuck in!
It's by no means a perfect job but I reckon it looks okay.
Started off with a rinse with the pressure wash, washed, rinsed, foamed and clay cloth (first time using it and I'm very impressed!), dried, polished with Menz P203/yellow pad on a rotary, rinsed and dried again, Prima Amigo by hand then topped off with Dodo-Juice Blue Velvet. Engine was cleaned with G101 and finished with Aerospace 303.
I also bought a Karcher steam cleaner which has turned out to be far better than the one I bought from Aldi last year, used it on the interior and was very impressed, the steering wheel is no longer shiny (with dirt) and feels much nicer. The downside being that the wear patches show up now. I guess a retrim would sort this though.
Before
And after
Note however that the steam cleaner has stripped a coating from the air bag cover so this will need replaced now. Safe to say it's quite powerful, well recommended bit of kit and great round the house!
The car has been booked in on the 9th of June to get both front wings and rear arch rustproofed and repainted. Hopefully it'll be done in less than a week as we plan on taking it on our holidays to Germany the week after!
No before pics, I always forget to take them and get stuck in!
It's by no means a perfect job but I reckon it looks okay.
Started off with a rinse with the pressure wash, washed, rinsed, foamed and clay cloth (first time using it and I'm very impressed!), dried, polished with Menz P203/yellow pad on a rotary, rinsed and dried again, Prima Amigo by hand then topped off with Dodo-Juice Blue Velvet. Engine was cleaned with G101 and finished with Aerospace 303.
I also bought a Karcher steam cleaner which has turned out to be far better than the one I bought from Aldi last year, used it on the interior and was very impressed, the steering wheel is no longer shiny (with dirt) and feels much nicer. The downside being that the wear patches show up now. I guess a retrim would sort this though.
Before
And after
Note however that the steam cleaner has stripped a coating from the air bag cover so this will need replaced now. Safe to say it's quite powerful, well recommended bit of kit and great round the house!
The car has been booked in on the 9th of June to get both front wings and rear arch rustproofed and repainted. Hopefully it'll be done in less than a week as we plan on taking it on our holidays to Germany the week after!
Time for an addition to the fleet in the form of a new daily driver. The Peugeot went to a neighbour after his van was stolen a couple of weeks back (I'd decided that I'd had enough of it so no great loss!), so there was a need for something suitable for commuting. After two weeks of scouring the classifieds for something, only to find overpriced ste or nice cars at the opposite end of the country I popped on Scumtree and found this....
It's a 2001 9-3 2.0 Aero HOT, 127k, a vast wad of receipts/paperwork and generally in decent condition.
There's a few bits that need seeing to, needs a front left ABS sensor and the rear arches are beginning to go so probably best to sort that out, this is the worst bit, the other side is surface rust....
I don't plan on making it concours, just tidy enough. Other plans are the important sump drop, try and get a non dodgy SID screen (missing pixels irritate the hell out of me!), maybe a remap and just keep adding miles.
te or nice cars at the opposite end of the country I popped on Scumtree and found this....
It's a 2001 9-3 2.0 Aero HOT, 127k, a vast wad of receipts/paperwork and generally in decent condition.
There's a few bits that need seeing to, needs a front left ABS sensor and the rear arches are beginning to go so probably best to sort that out, this is the worst bit, the other side is surface rust....
I don't plan on making it concours, just tidy enough. Other plans are the important sump drop, try and get a non dodgy SID screen (missing pixels irritate the hell out of me!), maybe a remap and just keep adding miles.
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